It is often desirable for individuals to maintain their paper money and cards (i.e., credit cards, debit cards, identification cards, smartcards, and the like) in a convenient location other than a traditional wallet or billfold. Oftentimes, individuals don't need a full-sized traditional wallet and would prefer a card and money holder which can conveniently hold a few cards and/or some bills.
Traditional wallets are usually placed in a purse or the rear pocket of pants or skirt. Sometimes, an individual may not want to carry a purse and/or carry a wallet in a rear pocket. In many instances, modern day fashions often incorporate close fitting pants or skirts, many without back pockets, which cannot accommodate a traditional wallet. Moreover, when carried in a rear pocket, traditional wallets are often visually apparent because of their bulk. In addition to being fashionably undesirable, they are susceptible to lifting by a pickpocket. In such cases, many individuals prefer to carry their paper money and cards in a front pocket in order to hide the money and cards. The front pocket is a location that makes lifting of its contents less likely. However, with paper money and several cards, the contents of a pocket may become quite disorganized. It would be convenient to have compact holder for cards and/or paper money which is simple and convenient to use.
The related art has recognized this need and includes a variety of card and money holding devices. Conventional practice is to employ a holder having a spring clip on one side for retaining a quantity of folded money, such as bills and the like, and on the opposite side a receptacle for holding a quantity of business cards and/or credit cards, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,019; U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,080; U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,627; and the references contained therein.
However, problems and difficulties have been encountered with such money clip and card holders which stem from the fact that the clip has a permanent bias which becomes weakened after use and, therefore, over time renders the clip unsuitable for holding folded bills. One of the difficulties with traditional card holders is that they require two hands to search through so as to eventually retrieve the desired card form the contained grouping. Card holders with a sliding drawer design, so that individual cards may be retrieved, may be bulky and have parts that may become lost or broken.
There continues to be a need in the art for a card and money holder that stores, protects, and allows easy retrieval of an individual card in a compactly-designed case, with no separate components to lose or break. Further, it would be advantageous if the card holder included a structure which functionality aided in the retention of a plurality of cards while facilitating their remove, one at a time.